In Overland Park, drive south on US-69/Metcalf Ave to 135 St. Turn
left or east, going under the highway to the next intersection and turn north onto Old
Metcalf Ave. Continue turning right at 133rd St. The cemetery is located in the NE corner, atop a fairly steep hill.

This cemetery is located on top of a hill on Old Metcalf Ave and has a beautiful view. Entrance to the cemetery is off of 133rd Street. The Old Metcalf Street side is fronted by a high rock retaining wall.

The cemetery grounds are well maintained. The original stones that remain are quite well worn. There are 10 graves where only the setting remains. In the east portion of the cemetery, in several neat full rows, are 65 granite stones that simply state Unknown and there are large empty areas with no visible signs of markers.

The land where Tomahawk cemetery lies was first owned by the Shawnee tribes in 1853 as part of the settlement for Ohio and Missouri. By the late 1860s, the tribes moved to Oklahoma and this land was opened up to the Pioneers. In 1870, Daniel and Agnes Murdock donated this ½ acre of land to the Public, to establish Tomahawk Cemetery on Sep 22, 1870. In 1991 it was ruled that because the land was unincorporated at the time, it belonged to Johnson Co, however now it was part of the class 1 incorporated city of Overland Park, and thereby belonged to them. At that time the City declared the cemetery closed for new burials.

The City identified 30 obvious graves that would have to be relocated. At this time, many graves were obviously missing headstones and many stones were illegible. The Johnson County Historical Society provided an earlier reading of the cemetery, and the City placed notices in newspapers and tried to find descendents. The City had a service with minister at the cemetery before any graves were moved. Some of the graves identified had headstones that would be moved, and for those missing headstones, new Unknown flat granite markers would be placed. While moving the graves, another 35 unmarked graves were uncovered, moved, and also marked for a total of 65 Unknown markers.

I have transcribed all existing and legible markers or stones from my first visit on Jul 29, 2005, and supplemented my transcription with the research contained in the City records.

- Linda Lewis

+ = Grave moved from original location in 1991
# = Partially legible stone supplemented from transcription by Connie Foster, Kansas Historical Society.
* = No stone. Information obtained from the transcription by Connie Foster, Kansas Historical Society, and/or from the City's list of graves to be moved.